The Arguments for Point Buy thread brought up a discussion about what stats represent. I listed an example of a character, but I wanted to start this thread to expand on it and see what people's comments were.
Okay, here's the character. A CN male human warlock, physical scores irrelevant, Int 7, Wis 15, Cha 18. How would you play this guy's personality?
The player who rolled this thought he had a retard on his hands, but obviously the 18 Charisma negates the drooling moron thought. I thought of him as a character cloaked in mystery, who stands in the shadows and rarely says anything, just looking and taking it all in. Everyone thinks he's a brooding, dark figure with deep secrets.
Of course, the only real secret is that he's quiet because he's completely missing the details of what's going on around him and has nothing to say. The type of character who, after hearing the strategist's master plan, looks up suspiciously and says, in a powerful voice, "So, I follow you in and kill them?"
Start talking academics to him? "Why are you lecturing me? I don't concern myself with that stuff!" As he arrogantly shoves the books away(and secretly in frustration). If pressed, he would reveal himself to be a bumbling fool who didn't know anything, but he has the ability and enough of a commanding presence to dodge most situations or just maintain an impenetrable silence and a countenance that doesn't bely his inner confusion.
But, how would you play this character of such dramatic and disparate abilities?
Oh, and for the record, the player couldn't get over that 7 Int and ditched the warlock for a paladin at his first chance.
|
Part of me feels like what you have is a used car salesman. Maybe a manager in the marketing department. Basically someone that sounds good and maybe looks good, but if you nail things down he really doesn't know what he is talking about. Would probably hide behind a lot of obfuscation. At least that is how I see it.
Director of Sales
|
Int 7, Wis 15, Cha 18. How would you play this guy's personality?
Michael from the Office, maybe?
But probably not as inherently funny, having a slightly higher sense of self-awareness from the high Wisdom.
Part of me feels like what you have is a used car salesman. Maybe a manager in the marketing department. Basically someone that sounds good and maybe looks good, but if you nail things down he really doesn't know what he is talking about. Would probably hide behind a lot of obfuscation. At least that is how I see it.
I like this.
|
That strikes me as almost a stereotypical actor. He dominates any room he enters and he can do smalltalk in any circumstance. He probably has a good feel for what people expect in most circumstances and can provide at least the seeming of it. But if you press him for the reasoning behind his opinions or the details of a plan he is supporting he is unable to provide them. But because he's so good at interaction, you might not notice that lack at the time.
Drop the WIS and raise the DEX and you might well have an artist.
A CN male human warlock, physical scores irrelevant, Int 7, Wis 15, Cha 18. How would you play this guy's personality?
I have kind of a different take. The low Int to me means he's not very knowledgable, maybe poorly educated. It would also mean that he is a slow learner that probably doesn't learn by reading something or even being told. Combine that with the fairly high Wis, means that he more than likely learns best by doing something. The high Wis also means that even though he not good figuring out puzzles or riddles, he understands people fairly well (Sense Motive is based on Wis right). His high Cha means that he has a certain confidence about him that just draws people to him. He is happy in who he is whether he is smart or not.
I guess when combined to with the CN and warlock I picture a man of action. He's not gonna spend a bunch of time trying to figure out the puzzle he gonna try something. He knows people well and often sway them to his opinion in order to get things done. He leaves the heavy thinking to others, but makes sure that faciltating the thinking process, it looks like he is contributing.
The one aspect of your personality I don't like is that, I feel, your missing out on his significantly above average Wisdom. He's probably not that arrogant if he has such a high charisma and is also very wise. Also really quite seems a little odd. Those who meet this guy like him. They want to be his friend. Their keen to give him a discount and older women flirt with him and try and give him sandwiches in all likelihood. So dark and brooding seems improbable.
That said you can probably do a number of different persona's with these stats. This guy draws people to him. People like him and he has a great deal of common sense but very little technical knowledge and he does not learn particularly well. He's charming but maybe rustic, he's wise enough to know that he's not good at reading and learning things. He's probably not self possessed - he understands that their are people that are good at tasks that he is not skilled at and is good at making people feel special for doing things that they are good at. If he is a leader (and he's definitely leader material) then he is wise enough to surround himself with experts and to take their advice on the nitty gritty details that he does not comprehend. If something is really far fetched he'll recognize that something is wrong though he probably can't articulate it in so many words. His alignment tells me that he is unconventional in his thinking.
In the case where people try and give him books he is likely to instead charm them into feeling that they are the ones who are smart for having read and understood these books. What he does then might depend on what the books are to be used for. He does not want to try and read them himself but he's likely to start looking around for some one who would be willing to read and understand them. Some one else is the perfect person for this job and he'll be right their to support them in accomplishing it.
More details however depend on this characters background, skill choices and ethics. Is he a bluffer who uses people? The unlearned Guru? An unlearned loner who others are drawn too? The stats set boundaries, both high and low ones, but within those boundaries there is really a lot of wiggle room. He could be a mad leader who displays an almost innate cunning and who's words are nearly mesmerizing but who has no real knowledge base outside of a small set of things which constitute that which he considers really important.
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
|
I will echo the 'used car salesman' sentiment here. High Wisdom means being able to read and understand people better and also reflects a stronger force of will and determination (Will saves are Wis-based). This fact, coupled with high Charisma, means that you have someone who won't back down and knows how to play an audience. He might not be so good at long-term scheming due to his lack of ability to grasp the Big Picture(tm), but he is certainly a strong personality and probably a leader to those who share his lack of foresight. In fact, most average people (Int 8-11) might not even realize he's a little slow on the draw because he certainly talks a good show and seems to understand people well.
This array of abilities is honestly rather similar to what I imagine George Bush's stat block might look like. He's obviously charismatic (he DID manage to get elected, after all), his wisdom allows him to read his audience (the average American) and appeal to their sense of justice and freedom, but his low Intelligence means that the longer he stays in office, the more evident his shortcomings become.
I'm thinking Ronald Reagan. Switch the Int with the Wis and you'd have Bill Clinton. Switch the Int with the Cha and you'd have Richard Nixon.
Excellent take, Heath.
hmm as the guy who plays Darren in the new Bewitched movie; looks good; but not to bright; needs someone else to tell him what is up; what is hip; what is good; what is stylish; but a bit slow on getting jokes; maybe laughs late and not generally reading people right or able to tell when someone is conning him; but wise enough to learn from experience and not be fooled twice; perhaps this guy has a low int due to memory problems; I might play this guys as always using pronouns like " you know that guy; the one who wore blue at the party; yeah, well he cheated me and stole my money; I dont know how much; a lot i guess; well, he is a jerk and I need some payback, so you know where to find that guy? Oh; did you hear about some adventure somewhere; yeah, pays pretty good to go get a thingy; wanna go?
Let’s see…
Chaotic/Neutral = He doesn’t give a crap about codified rules and doesn’t really care who gets hurt, as long as it isn’t him.
Intelligence 7: Not the brightest bulb in the box, but not really retarded; a slow learner, definitely. Tends to use what he’s familiar with and doesn’t like experimentation. New things/situations leave him floundering so he might come across as rather obsessive/compulsive to some people. He has a very small but very well defined comfort zone about his habits (eating, sleeping, touching or not touching certain things). He may even go to the point of being ritualistic about some of it, giving others the impression that he’s very religious, or very dedicated to something (cleanliness for example) or only eats a limited diet (nothing but Ramen Noodles and green tea). Perhaps he’s something like Monk with the OCD.
Wisdom 15: Good “street smarts” but far from being a mountain-top Swami. What he doesn’t know about technical details he could guess at with his feel for human behavior and not be far wrong very often. He has a good strong feel for when someone was giving him a line of B.S. even if he couldn’t out-argue them on any point of their line. He “reads people” pretty well and can sometimes ask very pointed questions regarding procedure: “Why didn’t you do it this way?” or “I would have done that like this...” and give an after-the-fact plan that would have worked well.
He could very well become the party leader and have them dancing to his tune with consequences we might not want to contemplate.
Charisma 18: Big time leadership material…maybe even really good looking to boot (subjective on your interpretation of the stat possibilities). He’s good with people, very good. He has a top-notch potential for manipulation and getting people to do things that they might not otherwise do just because they feel they owe him something – loyalty, or have something to prove to him – machismo, or whatever. He’d made an awesome politician, salesman of any kind, media personality of any sort, particularly comedian (provided someone else wrote the jokes).
My take: This guy could easily play as a Mafia Don type or the leader of some street gang or similar group of toughs. All he has to do is make the decision of who to give a job and let them do it. If they succeed everything is great. If not, they get whacked and replaced. Success brings its own rewards, while failure impresses everybody with his mercurial but cut-throat adherence to his own standards. They’re loyal or dead. They’re successful or dead. They rise on his coat-tails or dead. You get the picture. He’s not evil. He’s not doing anything for the fun of death/doom/destruction/pain/suffering/self aggrandizement, etc. He’s just trying to get his slice of the pie his way. Anyone who gets in the way gets removed, including henchmen, followers, et al.
I would play him as intense, with a strong brooding will and a deep intuitive sense of his surroundings and an good sense of what it takes to survive--but not a meditator, not a planner--but rather a strongly intuition based seat of his pants flier. I think it would be fun to measure his charisma not in slickness, but in animal power. He radiates a powerful presence that is not particularly smooth or personable, but which throws others a bit off their game.
Perhaps his high charisma is not so much likeability but self-confidence?
Combined with his high wisdom and low intelligence he has an unshakeable faith in his own ability to overcome any struggle and a very strong will (high WIS). He doesn't understand or care at all about other's opinions, or even of society's opinions, and can't see the usefulness of teamwork (CN). He's never bothered learning anything that wasn't self-evident to him, and to him everything worth knowing seems self-evident (low INT). He is cunning though (high WIS) as he must be to have survived this long.
People are perplexed by him and fear him, and they tend to believe in him because he so obviously believes in himself unshakeably (high CHA).
Kind of sounds like a villain, or at least a powerful anti-hero, the sort of guy who takes on the Big Bad because it never occurs to him he might lose.
PS I love threads like this ;)
Perhaps his high charisma is not so much likeability but self-confidence?
Combined with his high wisdom and low intelligence he has an unshakeable faith in his own ability to overcome any struggle and a very strong will (WIS). He doesn't understand or care at all about other's opinions, or even of society's opinions, and can't see the usefulness of teamwork (INT). He's never bothered learning anything that wasn't self-evident to him, and to him everything worth knowing seems self-evident (INT). He is cunning though (WIS) as he must be to have survived this long.
People are perplexed by him and fear him, and they tend to believe in him because he so obviously believes in himself unshakeably (CHA).
Kind of sounds like a villain, or at least a powerful anti-hero, the sort of guy who takes on the Big Bad because it never occurs to him he might lose.
The picture you paint... I actually know this guy. You nailed his description.
He sounds like he has a learning disability, maybe dislexic. He's got a "Good Head" on his shoulders, with lots of common sense. could notice someone trying to con him, if not sure how. Since physicallity is irrelevant (why I don't know, physicallity has a lot to do with personality), I would play him as the team captain. Everyone likes him, can hold his own talking about American Idol or South Park. Probably knows the Politically Correct answer to ethical questions, even if he isn't the deepest thinker. Good common sense, for the most part stays out of trouble. Not the best partner in Trivia pursuit. He is the guy "Who sees the BIG picture", but never sweats the details (because he can't deal with all the details). He is the king at reading body language and good at saying what people want to here. I think he would be a player, breaking hearts and not sure what he did wrong. But diffinetly aware of when it is time to call a relationship over.
this cat reminds me of a Cousin.
What fun to play such a character.
Perhaps his high charisma is not so much likeability but self-confidence?
that is a Good point.
Since physicallity is irrelevant (why I don't know, physicallity has a lot to do with personality...
Because I forgot the scores. :P It's been over a year since he rolled this set, and Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution weren't what grabbed our attention.
I love the replies thus far! So many character ideas and concepts, so many ways to read the stats! Makes me want to try my hand at all the different PCs described here. Keep it up, and if someone else has a set they'd like to throw up for interpretation, please do!
I'd probably play this character as a really kool guy who has a good instictive sense, but just has a bad memory. His plans would sound something like "You with the robe do your magic thing, then you with the sword rush in between us and the bad guys..."
But honestly, I think that stats should be only rough benchmarks of a character's personality and specific abilities. Any set of stats can be roleplayed as any number of personalities.
Every time I see a page long description of what exactly the mental stats represent, or even a brief analysis of how an 11 differs from from a 13, my interest immediately ends. Why? Because they're just a bunch of arbitrary numbers that are part of a make-believe game.
Hmm, I would probably play this character as scatterbrained fluke who talks a lot, someone who most people think as funny company, pretty little thing who is entertaining but not someone who is to be taken seriously...but if you listen to him/her you might notice that the character is actually quite observant, someone who regularly "hits the nail in the head" even while not necessarily being able to fathom the significance of the observation...popular character in detective novels of the Christie puzzle style...
Lets see...
I'd most likely play such a character as someone who knows, but does not understand.
Someone who can explain the basics of how just about anything works instinctively, but is at a complete loss when asked exactly how it works or how it should be put to use.
He could almost be the teacher that explains everything beautifully, that children listen to intensly and that motivates them to perform well, but when asked to explain something in detail or suddenly forced to talk about something he hadn't prepared, has to resort to looking it up in a book or preparing it for a later lesson.
Someone who knows what he is supposed to be doing, and does it well, but has trouble performing outside of that little, well prepared box or coming up with things that haven't been tried before.
But maybe that's not at all how it should be... character and stats are often hard to combine.
another idea.
A female who is very good looking and knows it. She is very aware of the attention men give her and uses it to attain her goals. This attention, from when she was a young lady, has made her leary and alert. She knows when someone is being genuine are just getting into her pants. Both men and women are attracted to her. She carries herself with confidence. Men want her, women want to be like her. People see her as confident and even smart. But if a conversation strays to deep, she can get lost, and will deftly move the conversation toward a realm she can understand. People who know her well, will explain things slowly so she can understand. She may not understand the complexities of a problem, but will be aware of trouble. She is quick to ask from others, "people are always so friendly and willing to help". When she speaks are acts she does so with conviction and confidence. She can be wrong and convince others she is right. She may argue a point, knowing she is wrong, just to convince others she is right, just because she can and is to confident to back down and loose.
anyway I think she would make a cool worlock.
Hmm, I would probably play this character as scatterbrained fluke who talks a lot, someone who most people think as funny company, pretty little thing who is entertaining but not someone who is to be taken seriously...but if you listen to him/her you might notice that the character is actually quite observant, someone who regularly "hits the nail in the head" even while not necessarily being able to fathom the significance of the observation...popular character in detective novels of the Christie puzzle style...
That could be fun to play, actually, and probably the way I'd try and run with it. I'd try to stay away from the character though, because I don't think I'd be able to resist the urge to make my key phrase "zoinks!"
That could be fun to play, actually, and probably the way I'd try and run with it. I'd try to stay away from the character though, because I don't think I'd be able to resist the urge to make my key phrase "zoinks!"
Oh yes, I have come across characters like this in fiction but they are usually shuffled to side roles and comic reliefs...because really roleplaying that character full time could be very very annoying for rest of the group...after all, with CHA like that, it is your duty to hog the spotlight.